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Erendar
Very much a work in progress, a lot of stuff stolen/borrow from Wizards of the Coast, Game of Thrones, and other Fantasy realms. Please feel free to take a look, and i'm willing to any ideas. I would like to make this world as fully fleshed out as possible.. https://erendar.obsidianportal.com/wikis/main-page - Skeezixs Currently I think I want to work on the land mass of Zanebia, and get the culture for each region penciled. Starting in the southern part. The idea right now for southern zanebia is desert, dry lands, so pulling from cultures like Morocco and Egyptian, Arabic cultures. I currently have a party in the town/city of Bana, far Western coast. And I literally have nothing for it right now so I got two weeks to create the town. Gotta love it when players want to hit up a city I don't have ready. -Skeezixs CmdrKorian - Just making sure I'm reading the wiki right: This area is human dominated horse clans, swept by sandstorms, and only recently (but no longer in living memory) unified? Based on "The southern way is to move with the wind". and "Durandan culture: Speed, Wealth, Wisdom." i suppose it is possible that when the PC's arrive the town is packing up to move to a location where a sandstorm just passed (making it relatively safe). If you group is dungeon delvy you could say that the entrance to an area gets covered with sand regularly and after ferocious winds the entrance is sometimes revealed. on the other hand if your characters are more into the RP/getting to know the game world. you could have them track down some of the horses that went missing (which is pretty important to the tribes for all of the stated reasons) Also whenever i'm stuck developing a new area, i tend to hit up the who, what, when, where, why, how? JustAPotato - Thats a good way to think about it. Skeez, are there just nomadic humans about in Southern Zanebia? and if so, what kind of culture do they have? Skeezixs - I would imagine yes, it makes sense to have them. Have I cultured them, nope. But I would say anything like Arabic or really any over desert type culture JustAPotato - Well for starters you can explore some of the existing and former migratory arid cultures such as Berbers, Arabs, Mongolians, Some Native Americans, and Aboriginals :) Is there something they revere or seek to find/hoard/understand in the desert, i would think water or life of some sort if not the desert itself CmdrKorian - Well money where my mouth is: Who, Letmat (hypothetical title for camp leader) Qadir What: is arguing as to going back for the horses is worth the risk of entering the sandstorm. When: well that's a cop out, when the PC's get there. Where: On one of Bana's stops (possibly seasonal movement) Why: He can't afford to lose the horses because they are central to their culture and he's worried about how it will affect his prestige. Maybe misplacing them is embarrassing and he can't be seen/acknowledge having lost them. How: PC's now have multiple options as to how they want to proceed, if it's worth the danger or if they have an interest in making this camp leader lose power. JustAPotato - Thats a cool idea, reminds me of the horse blokes from Game of Thrones Sepirothstrife - You could have a Medjai style of people (like from the mummy), They travel and have small camps with supplies but they are trying to keep people from some evil they have buried...or just a cache of knowledge that they fear will cause some sort of cataclysm. Bana is a far flung camp which is where they get food from and a prospective first stop by adventurers, so the Medjai can start to turn them away or at least gather some information on how they could best do so. JustAPotato - Alternatively the people of the region could be a society of horse herders or camel riders who ride from seasonal oasis to oasis It also depends if its a sandy desert or rocky desert as well Sepirothstrife - The party could also, if they go far enough out, sense an evil aura to the center of the desert that is nigh overwhelming. Good plot hook to come back later if you want them elsewhere because just the creatures aura is enough to make going forward an ordeal. like a lich or something CmdrKorian - If these people are supposed to move according to the wind but still be organized enough to be a "city" then maybe they leave marking as to where they currently are/when they expect to return. maybe a monolith with different colors of paint meaning different things. Sepirothstrife - Maybe the pillar is buried at a precise location each time and hidden under the sand to preserve the writing that tells them where caches are and the historically best place to find needed things. Because paint would wear away with the sandstorms, but beneath the sand it would be protected more Though depending on pillar size moving it would be a little awkward JustAPotato - They could build permanent structures like mausoleums or crypts there that are abandoned most of the year but serve to store their history. the pillar simply marks where these buildings are Skeezixs - These are all amazing ideas. Quite eye opening when you're just in a rut and can't think of anything but just a few minutes of talking here I feel a lot better. Like jumping g a car battery CmdrKorian - If wisdom is one of their main cultural tenants to me that means a respect/reverence for the elderly. That would mean either you get a council of elders or important city guide (kind of like how older elephants remember migration patterns). Either way moving the elderly in difficult conditions would mean that special techniques might be needed. Skeezixs - I introduced the party in a dungeon. Sandstone ruins, entry level delve. They took a mission from a wandering gypsy JustAPotato - Glad you're getting some creative juices pumping Skeezixs - I really like the moving townships. To avoid sandstorms or even desert raiders JustAPotato - An even simpler reason could be to follow the water Skeezixs - Who come around to steal horse and pillage their resources Sepirothstrife - Suddenly the Aiel from wheel of time come into my mind CmdrKorian - So what are your PC's like/how do you Dm (i create a game world and left my PC's just run around and do stuff, kicking over sandcastles). If your party is combat heavy we can help with dungeon ideas, if they are RP heavy then world building is the way to go. JustAPotato - And if the latter, i can easily help you populate your empty world i have a few back burner creatures I've been meaning to flesh out Skeezixs - First session so hard to tell. Most of them are heavy in str and not so much in the int and Wis. So looks like it's leaning towards meat grinder. But they do a really good job talking to each other and rping, one one really hasn't felt comfortable yet. And another will rp half the time I honestly think, I know this is a young discord, but if we all got together and built our own world. Each of us kinda works on an aspect or something. JustAPotato - not a bad idea, i am doing that with another discord server Skeezixs - Organization is key but doable. Large collaborations are difficult but can be so worth it CmdrKorian - Gotcha if you're just starting i would recommend planning several combat encounters per game session. Even for the RP heavy people i know it gives you something to pass the time while getting to know one another's character, which usually leads to less combat and more shenanigans. Skeezixs - Oh I do, I like to rp and I like puzzles and skills challenges I mix up my sessions and test all the aspects of the characters JustAPotato - I love rping but i'm still too new and it can be overwhelming to plan things Sepirothstrife - Just noticed, the economy section on Zanebia is blank on your wiki. So now I am stuck in trying to find what a desert culture would value (water obviously) and what they could offer to others outside of their realm. Like maybe they sell the glass that forms when lightning strikes sand (It looks seriously cool) or artifacts from civilizations under the sands. These things mean little within the area but they know the others not living on the sands value such things CmdrKorian - If they are low level and you said in some sandstone dungeon. Perhaps it's a storehouse for materials (dried/salted food. Water in jugs etc. Gives you some light traps to dissuade raiders and you could have either desert critters as monsters or it could actually be raided and occupied by raiders (gives people the option to negotiate/get to know other groups in the game world. Skeezixs - The first and foremost thing about that page is that it's in alpha. It was started at the start of 5e and everything is subject to change If it doesn't make sense or can be done better I change it or get rid of it I am trying to come up with other things you could use sand for in a period appropriate way. They could be glass blowers during times when the storms are quiet. That is done with just heat and sand. Though fueling the fire to get to that point is problematic. I cant imagine you could fuel it for long with just driftwood CmdrKorian - they could trade in horses. Just remember while water would be critical so would be food (since with horses that's a LOT more mouths to feed). Unless they have a load of clerics that know create food and water. Sepirothstrife - Though magic can ease the concern, or a natural cave that leads close to a geo-thernal vent where they make the glass. CmdrKorian - while desert they are still near the coast so salt/spices could work too. Just rapid firing ideas, i do like your vitrified lightning impacts idea. JustAPotato - Exotic plants, herbs, spices, and hides could be a fun one Giant scorpions could yield a carapace you could make into cataphract-like armor Sepirothstrife - They could trade internally for horses and goat and animals that produce food and sustenance, but I cant see them giving their means of mobility and food generation up without some serious crap on the other end CmdrKorian - mining is always an option but it feels like that would fit more in the northern culture (defend against the wind). Actually that could be a nice way to introduce PC's to an organic game world. have a group from the north accompanying/trading with the city of Bana while actually prospecting for deposits. Skeezixs - Once I get home tonight from playing this game of DND I'll write a bunch of this shit down and try and update the site soon Sepirothstrife - Mining in sand would be such a pain. Like the ash digging thing in Skyrim. Skeezixs - Could just be an archeological dig Sepirothstrife - Materials would have to be either very scarce elsewhere or much better in the sand to warrant it CmdrKorian - Well it says sandstorms, i don't know that it's 100% rolling dunes. Wind-blasted sandstone steppes could be a thing. Skeezixs - For the history if the area before the Shattering. And wind-blast sandstone steppes is probably the most accurate description for the area that they are in now. Dry cracked land. Of hard sandstone. No vegetation, very little water. Haven't have the chance to introduce conditions yet CmdrKorian - But i agree Sephiroth fleshing out the economics could go a long way to filling out the culture. JustAPotato - i concur Skeezixs - I'll focus on that then, thanks everyone CmdrKorian - They are tied Skeezixs (at least in my mind) if you solve one side of the problem, than the solution to the other becomes apparent. Which is why it's so much easier once it gets more and more fleshed out.Category:Worlds and realms